Welcome to my Weekly Weed Report video presentation for Tuesday, August 30. Below is a condensed transcript; the video contains additional details and several charts.

Let’s take a look at the latest legal, regulatory, and political developments in the wide world of weed, at the national and state levels.

Congress. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) stated last week that he remains optimistic that Congress will pass “some key reforms” on cannabis this congressional session.

Wyden last month introduced the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), together with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ).

CAOA would federally deschedule cannabis, expunge prior convictions, allow people to petition for resentencing, maintain the authority of states to set their own marijuana policies, and remove collateral consequences like immigration-related penalties for people who’ve been criminalized over the plant.

The bill also would impose a federal tax on marijuana products. Schumer has promised that CAOA will be a top priority in 2022, but time is running out.

All three prime sponsors of CAOA have admitted that getting the legalization bill through the Senate will require 60 votes in the sharply divided chamber, an unlikely goal.

“A 50-50 [Democratic] majority in the Senate will make passing our bill a difficult feat, but I hope we can at minimum pass some key reforms this Congress,” Wyden said. “This is a winning issue that is overwhelmingly backed by the American people, especially young voters, who understand how ridiculous and unfair it is for folks to be locked away for something that most states have legalized and almost everyone thinks should be legal.”

Public health policy. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) last week posted a Request for Information (RFI) titled: “Investigators’ interests in and barriers to research studies on the health effects of cannabis and its constituents.”

In the notice, NIH stated that eight agencies that operate under its aegis are partnering on the new initiative to solicit information about research barriers such as the continuing Schedule I ban of marijuana and limitations on the types of cannabis products available for use in clinical trials.

“Cannabis has been used medicinally for over 3,000 years,” NIH noted. “Recently, there has been growing interest from health care providers and the public in the potential medicinal properties of cannabis-related products.”

National polling. Americans continue to express a more favorable view of marijuana than of alcohol, according to the latest Gallup polls.

More than twice as many Americans say that cannabis has a positive impact on its consumers and society than say the same about alcohol, Gallup reported in a series of polls released in recent weeks.

Those who have actually used pot are far more likely to emphasize its beneficial effects compared to only a tiny minority of alcohol drinkers who feel the same way about their drug of choice.

Fifty-three percent of respondents said marijuana has a “positive” impact on the consumer (versus 45% negative), and 49% said weed plays a positive role in society (versus 50% with the opposite view).

Only 27% of respondents said that alcohol is good for the individual drinker and 23% said alcohol is a societal positive. Seventy-five percent of Americans say booze is bad for society, and 71% say it’s no good for most individuals who consume it.

A remarkable aspect of these findings is that alcohol is of course legal on the federal level, whereas marijuana is not.

Nearly half of U.S. adults, 48%, report that they have ever tried marijuana. The rate was 4% when Gallup first asked about it in 1969, rose to 24% by 1977, reached 33% in 1985, and had surpassed the 40% level by 2015.

California. Legislation to establish the framework for interstate marijuana commerce and expedite the sealing of criminal records for cannabis convictions is wending its way to the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) for his certain signature.

As Newsom has stated in the past: “The War on Marijuana has failed. We can’t continue to keep doing what we’ve done and expect a different result.”

New York State. Residents who’ve been directly harmed by the War on Drugs are now allowed to submit applications for the first batch of retailer licenses in the state.

Last week, the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) unveiled a regional breakdown of the maximum 150 conditional adult-use retail dispensary (CAURD) licenses that it plans to accept as the preliminary phase of establishing a state-wide network to cater to recreational marijuana consumers.

The CAURD application portal launched last week and will be operational until September 26.

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John Persinos is the editorial director of Investing Daily.

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